Quebec, QC, Canada, April 3rd, 2017 – NuRAN Wireless Inc. (‘Nuran Wireless” or the “Company”) (CSE:NUR) (OTC:NRRWF), a leading supplier of mobile and broadband wireless solutions to connect the next billion is pleased to announce that it has received an order for approximately $1.254 Million of its LiteCell 1.5 to be deployed for a Tier One operator in Nigeria.
On February 23, 2017, NuRAN had previously announced that its GSM LiteRAN 2G solution was selected by Global Communications Extension Services Ltd (“GCES”), a wholesale operator, for an initial deployment in Nigeria for a Tier One mobile operator.
Nigeria has the largest rural population in Africa with over 95 million people living in these remote and rural areas. The mobile phone penetration rate is at 81% and mostly within the urban region. With NuRAN’s solution, the Mobile Network Operators (MNO) and/or their wholesale partners now have an alternative to bring connectivity to these underserved areas with an economically viable solution compared to typical expensive wireless infrastructure. If this deployment proves to be successful, it will lead to many additional sites to be installed over the next three years.
With the objective of deploying over 1000 sites, this first order is a good example of a new wholesale business model to bring rural coverage. With the majority of the population living in rural and remote areas, Nigeria is a challenging environment with great opportunity. Operators, government agencies and commercial partners such as wholesale operators must work together to rebuild the communication infrastructure and get its people connected.
Building wireless infrastructure in many of these remote and rural areas was simply not feasible or economical for a Mobile Network Operator (MNO). The NuRAN Wireless LiteCell 1.5 breaks this barrier by providing an economical and viable solution. The LiteCell 1.5 is the lowest OPEX and CAPEX product available this product opens a new alternative to bring telephony and data to these unserved areas.
“This new order is another example of our rapidly growing sales pipeline translating into near term deployments. We are very excited about the amount of opportunities in front of us and look forward to announcing many more deployments throughout the year and coming years as we continue to fulfil our objective of connecting the next billion”, states Martin Bedard, Co-CEO at NuRAN Wireless Inc.
“Receiving purchase orders like this is as important for NuRAN Wireless, but this pales in importance compared to how important this technology becomes for the communities that are being connected for the first time. Being connected via voice, SMS and data services has long been shown to uplift communities. For this reason, NuRAN continues to strive to connect as many of these communities as we can.” says Bradley Shaw, Regional Manager Middle East and Africa of NuRAN Wireless Inc.
The overall market opportunity for rural and remote connectivity is in the billions of dollars. NuRAN has already established itself as the market leader with installs in 5 continents including Africa, South America, North America, the Middle East and Asia.
About LiteCell 1.5
The GSM LiteCell 1.5 is the world’s most affordable, lowest power consumption, and easiest to deploy GSM base station. Specifically designed to reach the next billion mobile subscribers, the GSM LiteCell opens a whole new world of possibilities for connecting low density, low income, and remote populations. In the past, remote and sparsely populated locations could not benefit from mobile coverage, as projected revenues from the smaller subscriber bases could not justify the deployment and operation costs inherent to traditional equipment. This reality now belongs to the past, as the GSM LiteCell makes it possible to build sites at very low cost, and where only minimal or no infrastructure at all exists. Operators now have the possibility to extend their network coverage and reach these subscribers in a viable and profitable way.
The GSM LiteCell is a hand-carried, tower-mounted base station. It does not require any machinery to install nor any kind of shelter to protect it. The base station’s ultra-low power consumption minimizes CAPEX associated to solar panels and batteries OPEX in the case of diesel-powered sites. When combined with NuRAN’s NuBSC and LiteSat, the LiteCell achieves industry-leading bandwidth optimization, thereby keeping the OPEX of satellite-backhauled sites to an absolute minimum. The LiteCell 1.5 is NuRAN’s fourth generation of GSM base station. It builds on a track record of high reliability, with thousands of units deployed in all parts of the world, enduring the harshest conditions.
About NuRAN Wireless
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